Chapter Four KAI’S POV

I heard Isla's scream at two in the morning.

I was in her room before conscious thought kicked in, pushing open the door to find her sitting up in bed, phone clutched in her hand, face pale.

"What happened?" I scanned the room for threats. "Is someone here?"

"No. It's…." She held out her phone with a shaking hand. "He knows I'm here."

I took the phone and read the message. Cold fury washed over me. "How?"

"I don't know. I didn't tell anyone."

"Did you have location services on?"

"I turned them off months ago."

"Check your apps. All of them."

She scrolled through settings. After a few minutes, she stopped. "There's something here. An app I don't recognize. It's hidden in my system files."

"Let me see." The app was sophisticated, buried deep, actively tracking her location. "He installed spyware on your phone. Probably months ago."

"He's been tracking me this whole time." Her voice was hollow. "Everything I did. He knew all of it."

I pulled out my own phone. "Derek? I need a clean phone delivered to my address within the hour. And a security consultation first thing tomorrow."

I ended the call and looked at Isla. She'd pulled her knees to her chest, making herself small.

"We'll get you a new phone with a new number." I held up her current phone. "This stays off. We'll let Brandon think you still have it."

"He's going to know I'm here regardless. I have a meeting at your construction site in seven hours."

She was right. Which meant we needed to change the situation entirely.

"What if you weren't just staying here temporarily?" The idea formed as I spoke. "What if it was permanent? Legal?"

"What are you talking about?"

"A marriage. Legally binding. It would send a clear message to Brandon that you're protected."

Isla stared at me. "You want to marry me to scare off my stalker ex-boyfriend?"

"I want to give you legal protection that a restraining order can't provide. As my wife, you'd have access to my security, my lawyers, and my resources." I kept my voice level. "And it would solve another problem. My father's will requires me to be married to inherit full control of the company."

"That's insane."

"It's practical."

"It's a marriage, Kai. Not a business contract."

"It can be both." I stood, pacing to the window. "We'd draw up papers. Clear terms. Six months, maybe a year."

"I don't get a say in this?"

"That's not what I…." I stopped. She was right. "I'm sorry. This is your decision."

She climbed out of bed, walking to the window.

"Why would you do this?" she asked quietly. "Really? And don't tell me it's because I'm Marco's sister or because you need the company shares."

"Both those things are true."

"But they're not the whole truth." She turned to face me. "I saw how you looked at Brandon tonight. That wasn't about business or brotherly obligation."

My jaw tightened. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me. If I'm going to even consider this, I need honesty. Why do you care what happens to me?"

Maybe she deserved some truth.

"Five years ago, at your graduation party, you spilled wine on my jacket." The memory was crystal clear. "You laughed and said I was being nice for Marco's sake."

"I remember. You said I wasn't annoying."

"What I didn't say was that I'd been watching you all night. That I went home and couldn't stop thinking about your laugh. Your smile."

Her eyes widened. "Kai…."

"The next day, Marco asked me to stay away from you. Said you didn't need his best friend complicating your life. I promised him I would." I looked away. "I've kept that promise for five years."

"By ignoring me."

"By protecting you from me. From my family. My father." I turned back to her. "But I never stopped watching. Never stopped noticing. And when Brandon came into your life, I hated every second of it."

"You paid him off. You paid him to leave me alone."

"Two years ago, yes. He was showing signs of control issues. I offered him money to relocate." My hands clenched. "It worked for a while. But then you broke up with him, and he came back."

"Because the money ran out."

"Because he's obsessed. And men like that don't stop." I moved closer. "So yes, marrying you solves my inheritance problem. But that's not why I'm offering. I'm offering because the thought of him touching you makes me want to burn the world down. Because I've spent five years pretending I don't care when caring about you is the only thing that feels real."

Isla's breath hitched. "You're saying you have feelings for me."

"I'm saying I've been in love with you since the moment we met. And I've hated myself for it every single day."

Instead of running, she laughed. It started small, then grew until tears streamed down her face.

"This is not the reaction I expected," I said carefully.

"Five years," she gasped. "Five years I've been crushing on you like an idiot. Five years of thinking you couldn't stand me." She wiped her eyes. "And this whole time, you've been in love with me?"

My heart stopped. "Do you have feelings for me?"

"I've had feelings for you since I was twenty-one and you told me my thesis project was the most innovative thing you'd seen." She stepped closer. "You remembered it. You actually read my thesis."

"I've read everything you've published. Every interview. Every portfolio piece." I was closing the distance between us. "Isla—"

"This is still insane. Marriage is insane."

"Completely insane."

"Brandon's going to lose his mind."

"Good."

She tilted her head up. We were inches apart now.

"If we do this," she said quietly, "we do it right. Proper papers. Clear boundaries. An exit strategy."

"Whatever you want."

"And no one can know it's not real. Not Marco, not our families, not anyone."

"That won't be difficult for me."

Her breath caught. "Kai…."

"But you're right. Clear boundaries. This is an arrangement. Protection in exchange for legal benefits. Nothing more."

Even as I said it, I knew I was lying.

"Okay," she said finally. "Let's do it."

"Okay?"

"Marry me, Kai Westbrook. For six months. For protection." She smiled. "And maybe to see if what we've both been feeling for five years is real or just fantasy."

I should have said no. Should have established those boundaries.

Instead, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.

She melted into me immediately, her hands fisting in my shirt, a small sound escaping her throat that made every promise I'd made to Marco evaporate.

This was a mistake. This was going to complicate everything.

I didn't care.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Isla looked up at me with dazed eyes. "That felt pretty real."

"Yeah." My voice was rough. "It did."

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. We both froze. She picked it up, and her face went white.

"What?"

She turned the screen toward me. A new message from Brandon: *Enjoy him while you can, baby. I'm going to destroy him. Then I'm coming for you.*

The fantasy shattered. This wasn't about stolen kisses. This was about keeping Isla alive.

"We'll deal with him," I said. "Together."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. But we will." I stepped back. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow we have a hotel to design and a wedding to plan."

"In that order?"

"Knowing my father's lawyers, probably simultaneously."

She almost smiled. Then she climbed back into bed.

I walked to the door, then turned back. "Isla? I meant what I said. About burning the world down for you."

"I know." She pulled the covers up. "That's what scares me."

I closed the door and leaned against it, my heart still racing.

Five years of distance destroyed in one night. A marriage proposal made in desperation. A kiss that changed everything.

And Brandon Mitchell, somewhere out there, watching and waiting.

I pulled out my phone and texted Derek: “I need a full background check on Brandon Mitchell. Everything. And I need to know who he works for.”

The reply came seconds later: “It's 2 AM.”

“I don't care. He's threatening her. I want to know everything about his life so I can take it apart piece by piece.”

“Jesus, Kai. What did you do?”

*I asked her to marry me.*

There was a long pause. Then: “I'll make the calls. And Kai? Be careful. This is exactly how it started with Sarah.”

I knew that. Of course I knew that. But this time was different.

This time, I wouldn't lose her. I couldn't.